Dawn Eve, Guest Column

Well, it&8217;s over. The chaos of another election season has come and gone. The votes have been tallied, the dust has cleared – and with it, the smoke, as the citizens of yet another Minnesota community have made their voices heard on a vitally important issue.

This week, the people of Mankato voted to uphold the ordinance that keeps their public spaces and workplaces, including restaurants and bars, smoke-free. Congratulations are in order to everyone who lives there, and especially to those who stood up for the health of their community through their votes.

The Mankato experience shows once again that Minnesota voters want our state to be a leader in health and health protections for all of its citizens. It shows that this isn&8217;t simply a Twin Cities issue &8212; Minnesotans all over the state understand the health implications of secondhand smoke exposure, and they believe that workers behind the bar are every bit as deserving of protection as those who work in offices. No one understands that better than those of us running bars and restaurants in Greater Minnesota.

Mankato joins other Greater Minnesota communities such as Beltrami and Meeker counties, which also have strong ordinances to protect citizens from secondhand smoke. Public opinion surveys have shown that in cities and counties that have already gone smoke-free, more than 70 percent of Minnesotans say they are happy with their ordinances. When was the last time we saw agreement like that on a political issue? And support for policies protecting the health of workers is even coming from some surprising corners. Just recently, Nation’s Restaurant News, a leading hospitality industry publication, identified smoke-free policies as the way of the future, and called on businesses to embrace them as the positive development they are. The new national commander of the VFW says he wants their traditionally smoky halls to go smoke-free as well.

But despite the overwhelming support of Minnesotans from all walks of life and all political stripes, many communities in this state still have no such policies. Don’t workers and customers across the entire state deserve equal protection from secondhand smoke, which just this summer the U.S. Surgeon General called &8220;not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard that causes premature death and disease in children and nonsmoking adults&8221;? I didn’t fully understand this until my doctor told me I had developed black spots on my lung from exposure to secondhand smoke.

My doctor gave me a choice: I could either sell my restaurant or go smoke-free.

I chose smoke-free.

Since then, I&8217;ve realized that Minnesotans are ready for smoke-free spaces. I hear it often from customers who enjoy my smoke-free business. But instead of a piece-meal approach, it’s time for a comprehensive statewide policy, one that protects all workers equally, and leaves no one at a disadvantage.

Now that the election is over, it’s time for our elected leaders to get back to work, to demonstrate true leadership and to acknowledge what Minnesotans across the state are saying. Making Minnesota smoke-free is something that we all can and should get behind. The time is now.

Dawn Eve, owner of Jammers Blue Note Ballroom in Turtle River, is a third-generation bar owner who has worked in a smoky environment for years. She voluntarily made her business smoke-free.